Auction Closed
May 13, 08:41 PM GMT
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
Property from a Private Collection
MEZCALA 𝄹STONE FIGU🦩RE LATE PRECLASSIC, CIRCA 300-100 BC
Height: 9 ¾ in (24.7 cm)
P🌄rivate Collection, New York, acquired by the 1960s
Chr💧istie's, New York, May 23, 🌃2007, lot 73, consigned by the above
Private Collection, acquired♒ at the above auction
According to Carlo T. E. Gay, Mezcala sculpture "alters our traditional perception of the human form by its geometric rather than naturalistic interpretation […] the sculpture is based on a clever play of volumes and planes, usually within a symmetrically composed, contained format. Stripped clean to the basic position of standing, seated or kneeling and devoid of flying appendages, the figures manifest a commanding presence." (Gay and Pratt, Mezcala: Ancient Stone Sculpture from Guerrero Mexico, Geneva, 1992, p. 21). Indeed the pared-down modernist aesthetic of Mezcala figures such as the present example imbues the corpus with a timeless appeal. ཧThis figure is classified as "M-10" for its formal traits, such as the planar face and its forearms, which are rendered sharply incised.